A passenger plane crashes on landing in Toronto, with the 80 passengers possibly narrowly escaping disaster.
A Delta regional jet overturned in Canada while landing Monday at Toronto Pearson Airport after a blizzard, injuring 18 of the 80 people aboard, according to authorities.
Three people on the flight, which came from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in the US, were seriously injured, including one child, officials said.
What happened to the plane?
According to the US carrier Delta, a 16-year-old CRJ900 aircraft operated by its Endeavor Air subsidiary was involved in an accident with 76 passengers and four crew members on board.
“Initial reports indicate there are no fatalities and 18 customers with injuries have been transported to area hospitals. Our primary focus is taking care of those impacted,” Delta said in a statement.
“I’m relieved to learn that all passengers and crew are accounted for after today’s plane crash at Toronto Pearson,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said on X. “Thank you to the first responders, crew and airport staff for their quick actions and commitment to keeping everyone safe.”
IN a post on the social media platform X, the airport noted that all those on board had been accounted for.
Was weather to blame?
Earlier Monday, Pearson Airport said it was dealing with high winds and frigid temperatures as airlines tried to catch up on missed flights after a weekend snowstorm dumped more than 22 centimeters of snow at the airport.
Airport fire chief Todd Aitken said that the “cause of the crash is still under investigation.” “What we can say is the runway was dry and there was no cross-wind conditions,” he said.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said it was sending a team of investigators, and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said a team of investigators would assist the Canadian TSB.
The Toronto airport was closed for more than two hours before departures and arrivals resumed.
The Toronto crash followed other recent crashes in North America. A US Army helicopter collided with a CRJ-700 passenger jet in Washington, killing 67 people, while at least seven people died when a medical transport plane crashed in Philadelphia and 10 were killed in a passenger plane crash in Alaska.
